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The lovely long Christmas summer holidays are the perfect chance to break from routine and have some fun! It’s a time to reconnect with family and friends, sleep in, stay up late, eat more “treat” foods, travel to exciting destinations and forget about time for a while. But how do you adjust to getting back into the work/school routine when it’s all over? If you are anything like me, it’s a huge struggle! By now, some parents are probably at the end of their tether after having their children at home for six weeks and are looking forward to getting back to routine; whilst others have loved the chance to spend more quality time with their children and are not quite ready. Either way, the change is coming so here are just a few tips to make it all a little easier:

•Try getting back into a routine with sleep times, bath times, meal times and other regular activities at least one week before school resumes. This will help your children’s body clocks adjust to the rhythm of routine and make the transition less stressful.

•Get them to have a look at their calendar/planner (as suggested in Help your child achieve their dreams for 2015!). They can use it to count down the days until school begins so that they have comfort in knowing when and what will take place. They can also use it to get organised for the next week.

•Help them to get excited about the impending term by talking about what is coming up e.g. excursions, parties, swimming lessons, Easter, and seeing all their friends, etc and then demonstrate how to mark some of these on their calendar/planner.

•Make the first week back relaxing and try not to plan too many after school activities if possible. Getting back into a routine is tiring and it’s best to keep all other activities to a minimum.

•Give them lots of free time after school to just run outside, play and be free. Especially the first week back but as often as possible during the whole term as well.

•Plan something fun but simple for the first weekend after being back at school. It could be a movie or pizza night, a picnic in the park, or a visit with family and friends. This is something the children can look forward to if they are hesitant about going back to school and it lets them know that the fun doesn’t have to end just because the holidays do.

•Hopefully there will be no homework in the first week back (if they attend a school which believes in giving homework) but if there is, show them how to organise their week so that they can do a little at a time and it’s not overwhelming. They can use their planner to work out when best suits them.

•Make time at dinner to sit around the table together (which should be a regular occurrence anyway) and chat about their day. This helps them to communicate their feelings and bond with their family. If open communication is developed and encouraged then they will be more likely to open up to you when they have concerns or issues that they need to discuss.

•If they are at a new school or even just a new class with different students and teacher, they may be feeling a little anxious about the change. Ask them how they are feeling about the new school/teacher/class and answer all their concerns as honestly and reassuringly as you can.

More than anything just be there for your children to guide them through this change in routine as there may be a period of adjustment which might cause them to feel anxious. You may notice behaviour that is not typical for them and it could just be that they are overwhelmed and overtired with the changes. Be understanding and talk to them about their feelings. It may appear that they are just being “naughty” and playing up, but there is always an underlying reason so make sure that you investigate and be supportive. In saying all of this, your child may actually be really happy about being back at school and not have any worries or concerns at all. If they are, then that’s great but just keep these tips in mind so that you can ease them back in regardless of how you think they will – or how they do – adjust to this big change.

Step 1 – Cover your surface area with newspaper or a plastic tablecloth and get out everything you will need to make your Sparkly Christmas Bauble. Then place plastic wrap fairly loosely over the rim of your plastic cup and let your foam ball sit securely on the plastic wrap.

Step 2 – Hold onto the plastic cup and use it as a stand for your foam ball as you paint one side of the foam ball in your favourite Christmas colour paint. Then turn the ball over and paint the other side. Leave it to dry for a few hours or overnight and then repaint one side – letting it dry – and then turn it over to paint the other side again. Leave it for a few hours or overnight once again to make sure it is completely dry.

Step 3 – Use the plastic cup and plastic wrap once again to help hold the foam ball. Then put some glitter glue paint into a paint palette/container and generously paint one side of the ball with glitter glue paint.

Step 4 – Using your fingers, carefully sprinkle or gently place some of your sparkliest sparkles all over one side of your glitter glue covered foam ball and let them sink in and stick.

Step 5 – After one side has completely dried turn the foam ball over and repeat step 4 on the other side. Then let the bauble completely dry again.

Step 6 – When the bauble is completely dry, press a piece of tinsel pipecleaner into the top at two points, making a hanging loop.

Your Sparkly Christmas Bauble is complete and ready to sprinkle its Christmas magic, so place it where everyone can see it and feel the magic sparkle of Christmas! Not only will your darling precious children love making these but they are also developing their fine motor skills, creativity, and an appreciation for all things sparkly : )

There is so much that I love about Spring – the weather warming up, the flowers blooming, the return of butterflies and lady beetles, and the sense of new beginning that it brings. Part of the new beginning is systematically taking stock of where you are heading on your journey and assessing if it is where you want to be. Another huge part is clearing the bogged down Winter feeling by Spring Cleaning! It is not only physically cleansing but also spiritually. There is nothing quite like getting rid of clutter you don’t need and beautifying your environment to make you feel more peaceful and happy.

Children also hugely benefit from being part of a big Spring clean and there are so many ways that they can help. In my twenty years of working with children, I have seen how much they really love to get in there and help when given the…

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Reading is without a doubt the most important academic skill you will ever learn. Why? Because – If the only thing you ever learnt at school was to read then that would be enough to self-educate yourself for the rest of your entire life! It’s not that learning maths, science, sport etc is not valuable or essential but they are not as imperative as learning how to read. If you know how to read you can teach yourself how to do absolutely anything you want to just by using the internet, or reading books, magazines, journals e books etc. No other academic skill can do that! Studies have shown that children who are read to each night and who have parents who read often, are more likely to enjoy reading themselves and to view books as an essential and valuable part of their life!